Putting aside the presence of Ludo - which will forever be the worst board game ever made - 51 Worldwide Games is a pristine package of some of the most valuable cultural properties we have, and it is truly masterful at explaining even the most complex of them to a completely new audience. This is a rare opportunity to learn something about artefacts as wide-ranging as Chess, Mahjong, Hanafuda, and Mancala. That's not something you should miss out on.
I'm actually disappointed that I didn't like Golf With Your Friends more. I enjoy party games, I enjoy minigolf, and I do think that the fundamentals of good minigolf are in there. However, it's worth remembering that right back at the start with the Nintendo Switch Zen Studios released Infinite Minigolf - a minigolf game with character avatars, personality AND the ability to create and share courses, giving it much greater value as a single-player experience. It doesn't have the ability to provide the kind of wildly entertaining large party experience of Golf With Your Friends, though, so I guess the question then becomes which of the two scenarios will more likely describe how you're playing games most of the time?
It's a little disappointing that the developers didn't take this opportunity to tackle some of the superfluous stuff that is at odds with the better elements, and I've yet to be won over by the new narrative arc and whether it does anything to actually build on what was already a perfectly dense work. However, the core of the game is that powerful that the main reason to buy into this - that visual re-working - is more than enough to be worthwhile in itself.
With the release of Prelude to the Fallen, the core part of the franchise is now all fully (and formally) available in English, and that's a wonderful thing. I do hope that there's more to come in the future, as the unique aesthetics, thematic background, and design elements of the series make it both interesting and evocative, and after playing these games, they do kind of stick with you as something beautiful and memorable.
This game is a creatively broken, anti-intellectual insult.
Super Mega Baseball 3 feels like the baseball games I used to love from a few generations ago. Liberated of the "depth" of modern sports games, there's an efficiency to the action that is appealing, and the gameplay modes that it does offer are all compelling.
You'll start to question everything as you play The Eternal Castle.
What The Golf? is by no means a bad game - it's actually highly entertaining - but while the developers have done everything that they can with it, at some point hitting anything but a golf ball around a golf course loses its lustre as a joke.
John Wick Hex is a fascinating example of a developer making compromises in order to make the game fit with the license.
Spirit of the North almost nails it.
The Dresden Files: Cooperative Card Game is such a fundamentally flawed concept, and the execution is so lacking, that it offers nothing whatsoever of value.
This new release of Gals' Fighters is, of course, a game with a very specific audience.
Yumetsutsu is a perfect follow on to the Nurse Love series.
While it never manages to rise beyond being a fastidious clone of a beloved series, Daymare 1998 is not as terrible as some might have you believe.
If you're just looking for esports, there's no need to play a bad simulator that is largely unrepresentative of the experience of esports anyway. Just go and watch the real thing on Twitch.
From the perviest moments of fan service through to the most heart-wrenching moments of insecurity that each of the characters displays, Sakura Wars is by turns hilarious and touching, and covers a real emotional gamut.
Legends of Amberland succeeds in capturing the appeal of those old Gold Box-era RPGs from SSI and their ilk.
This is a game that feels decidedly modern and could (and should) appeal to a much broader audience than "existing Trials of Mana" fans.
There's the genesis of a good idea in there, but the execution is so far beyond uninspired that there's simply nothing that can redeem it.
For the board game enthusiast this is a true Japanese experience. Under the bright colours and ridiculous wealth being thrown around (you'll be worth billions in just an hour) lies something that has clearly been created by people who love the unique micro-cultures with Japan, and the sheer delight that you have in simply travelling across the country.